Cushion-forming mechanism.



m 775.966 PATENTBD NOV. 29, 1904.

' 0. A. FISHER.

cnsmon FORMING MECHANISM.

LPPLIOATIOI Hum 10- 3. X903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H0 MODEL.

No. 7'75,96'6. PATENTED NOV. 29, 1904. C. A. FISHER.

CUSHION FORMING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION I'ILED' AUG. 3. 1003.

H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-EBEET 2- TdiZ'n 55155 r gm owl QM,

yflyyvezmz.

Patented November 29, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE."

oI ARL s A. FISHER, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

USHION-FORMING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 775,966, dated November 29, 1904.

.Original application filed October 21, 1901, Serial Ne. 79,4;09. Divided and this application filed AugustB, 1903 Serial No. 168,047.

(Ho model.)

To all whom it may-concern.-

to a vertical surface of the mattress.

. the seam itself. tress is filled with material such as excelsior, moss, curled hair, or the like-which has a Be it known that I CHARLES A. FIsHnR, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Ohieago, in the county of Cook and State of Illii in making that class of mattresses in which a ticking is fitted over or filled with resilient material and a seam is then sewed diagonally through the. upper and lower edges of the tick when so filled,such seam extending diagonally from the upper or lower surface of the mattress through the tick and also through the filling material and again through the ticlli It wi thus be seen that with a'tick of. this class such a'seam results in forming a fold or cushion of filling material inclosed within the tick and extending along the upper and lower edges of the mattress. r

Owing to the resilient nature of the filling material used, it is necessary that the same shall be held under compression while the mattress is being made, and it is also necessary that by some means the surfaces of the mattress shall be compressed and held in the required shape while the seam above noted is being made. This is necessary'both to insure uniformity in the marginal cushion formed by said seam as well as to insure uniformity in Furthermore, where the mattendency to bunch up the cushions extending around the upper and lower edges of the mattress, as above described, will not be properly filled unless the material is forced into these corners or edges of the mattress, so

as to tightly fill them, and is firmly held in that position while the ELbOVGrdBSCIlbBd seam is sewed diagonally through the tick adjacent to but back of its edges, so as to retain the filling material within these edges and complete the forming of these edge-cushions. On

the other hand, where such soft material as cotton-batting or loose cotton is used it is practically impossible to drive a needle through the material unless the material is firmly held as a body against the pressure of the needle, so that it also may be necessary with material of this kind that it shallbe tightly forced into the corner edges of the tick and held there while the above previously described seam is being sewed.

My invention therefore relates to machines for compressing the surfaces of mattresses and for holding them under compression in the desired shape and position toenable the operator to'accurately and readily sew the marginal seam above described. j

The object of my invention is to provide a machine of simple construction and positive operation for compressing mattresses to any desired thickness and for compressing the ends or sides thereof at the same time, so as to provide a marginal rib or fold along the upper and lower corners or edges of the mattress, through which the operator may sew the usual marginal seam in the mattress. This and such other objects as'may hereinafter appear are accomplished by the devices shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of a machine drawings, A indicates the bed of the machine,

beneath which is mounted a shaft B, provided at each end with bevel-gears U. Upon brackets D at each end of the bed of the machine are mounted screw threaded adjustmentshafts E by means of collars (2. Attached to the lower ends of these adjustment-shafts I are bevel-gears F, meshing in gears O.)

Or is a presser-bar extending across the bed of the machine, the ends of which bar have a screwthreaded engagement with the adjust ment-shafts E.

. Mounted upon the presser-bar G by means of supports H is a guide-rod I, extending the length of the presserbar G and parallel therewith. Power is transmitted to the shaft B through pulleys?) in any suitable manner.

J is the clutch mechanism for throwing the pulleys 6 into or out of engagement with the shaft B. d Extending beneath the bed A and in a direction crosswise of the presser-bar G is a pair of presser-aTnis K, arranged one at each side of I the bed A. The forward ends ofthese presserarms are preferably curved or croolr'shaped. At their extreme forward end the presser- 5 arms K carry a horizontal pressr-bar L, which extends in front of. and parallel with thebed A. The inner ends of the presserarms-K are supported by brackets 21?, mounted on the under side of the bed A, and have screw- 2 threaded engagement with axial openings through gear -wl1'eels M, which mesh. with worm-gears N, mounted upon a second shaft under the bed A, to which power is transmitted in any suitable or convenient manner. 2 5 If the mattress is to be sewed by hand, my device as above described is complete and opcrates as follows: First, the pre'sserarms K "are drawn outwardly until the horizontal presser-bar L stands clear of the bed A of the 3 machine. With the device constructed as shown in the drawings this is accomplished,

by imparting motion to the worm-gears N,

whereby the gear-wheels M are caused to rotate, which having screw-threaded engage- 3 5 ment with the presser-arms K cause the same to moveoutwardly. One of the pulleys 72 being next thrown into operation by the clutch mechanism J, the shaft B is caused to rotate in the desired direction and by means of the 4 gears C F causes a corresponding rotation of the adjustment-shafts E, where by the presserbar G is lifted to the desired point, whereupon the pulley b is thrown off. A mattress O is now laid upon,- the bed A so that one end or side thereof shall slightly overhang the forward edge ofthe bed A. Thereuponthe other pulley is thrown into engagement with the shaft B, causing a reverse rotation thereof and a correspondingly-reversed rotation of 5 the adjustment-shaft E, whereby the presserbar G is drawn down upon the upper surface of the mattress O, as shown in Fig. 1. When the mattress has been compressed to the desired pointsuch, for instance, as shown in Fig. l the pulley 6 is thrown out of engagemerit with the shaft B and the downward movement of the presser-bar ceases. Thereupon, by means of the gears previously de- 7 scribed, movement is imparted to the presserarms K, whereby the horizontal presser-bar L is drawn backwardly against the overhanging end or side of the mattress 0 .until such end is compressed in the desired manner, as shown in Fig. 1. Thereupon the movement 5 of the presser-bars K is stopped and the mat- S will drive or feed: the machinealong I tress is firmly held under pressure in the po sition shown in Fig, 1, whereby a rib or fold is formed in the mattress along the upper and lower corners or edges thereof, where portions of the mattress protrude between the adjacent 7 surfaces of the presser-bars Gr and L on the one hand and the presser-bar L and the bed A on the other hand. While held in this position, the corner or edge seam may be sewed byhand through the projecting or bulging rib or fold of the mattress, no skill-being required to insure that the necessary filling is contained in such rib or fold and no care being requiredon the part of theoperator to see that the mattress is at all times under the 30 same compression while said seam is being sewed. As soon as said seam or seams are sewed along one end oriedge of the mattress it is released by the reverse rotation of the gears, and by the consequent reverse, move- 5 ment of the presser-bars G and L the mat tress is turned-around and the next side or edge is compressed by the presser-bars, and so on until all edges of'the mattress have been properly sewed. 9

In using my device as above outlined it should be borne in. mind that while I prefer constructing it as above described'it is entirely practical to substitute gears operated by hand-wheels or, indeed, to use hand-oper- 9'5 ated rack-bars and pinions for reciprocating the pr'esser-bars G and L. -Where my device, however, is to be used in connection with a sewing-machine, instead of sewing the seams 'by hand I pivotally mount such sewing-inachine, by means of asleeve z', upon the guide bar I. by which the sewing-machine is in part supported and along which it travels. Upon the upper surface of the pressr-bar- G, I provide a rack-bar I =-The sewing-machine, which, except as hereinafter noted, may be of any suitable type, (I am making no claim to the sewing-machine per 86,) comprises a frame Q, withiniwhich mounted a driving-shaftR, tolwhich power' d may be transmitted in any suitable-manner; The needle-bar may be actuated in' 'theiusual manner by means of a cam mounted upon the shaft R. Also mounted upon the shaft-R is a grooved'track-cam S, which engagesfl one 15 end of a pivoted feed arm or leverTQ-the opposite end of which actuates a double aeting pawl U, which engages the rack-bar P} 'ThQ= cam S is so arranged and timed with reference to the needle-arm that the'feed-arul-fi'll will:

only throw the pawl U in engagementlwith the rack-bar P when the needle-armi- 'i and the needle is clear ofthe mattre The pawl U being thrown in engagementj w rack-bar P, the further movement ofthezinn arm of the leverT by the rotationofithe iii; 5. guide-bar I and across the face of thestation-j' ary mattress,las the feed-lever T is .pivotedito the frame of jhe machine at. t. [Further rota:

tion' of the cam S will carry the pawl U backward over the rack-bar P, and the machine is forced forward another step. It will thus be seen that the sewing-machine will be car ried or fed along the rack-bar P at every rotation of the shaft R. I claim. v i

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a bed, a presser-block arranged to reciprocate vertically above said bed, a

prcsser block arranged toreciprocate hori combination of-a bed, a vertically-reciprocating presser-bloclr, presser-arms extending below said bed, a horizontally reciprocating presser-block carried by said presserarms so as to engage the edge of a mattress resting upon said bed only alonga horizontal line below, but parallel With, the upper edge oi said mattress so that the upper corner edge of such mattress will be caused to bulge out and be.

clamped between said vertically and said hori zontally reciprocating presscr blocks, and means for reciprocating said presser-blocl;s, substantially as described. p

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a support, of a presserblock, arranged transversely of a mattress resting upon said support, to compresssaid mattress against said support along a line back of the forward edge of said mattress, a presser-block arranged to engage the forward vertical edge oi. said mattress along a line be low and parallel with the upper edgeof said mattress,'and means for bringing said presserblocks into and out of engagement with such mattress, whereby said mattress is caused to bulge outwardly between said presser-blocks, substantially as described.

4.. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a support, of a pres'ser block arranged to co1npress a mattress against said support, a second presserdalock arranged to engage the forward edge of a mattress compressed between said first rresser-bloclz and said support, on a planebelow the under surface of said first presser-block, and means for actuating each of said pressure-bl0cl s, whereby said mattress is caused to bulge outwardly between said presser-blocks, substantially as described;

5. In a machine of the class described, mean for forcing the filling material into the edge cushion ofa mattress, and for holding such material in the edge cushion under pressure, while a seam is sewed through the mattress along the inner edge of said cushion, said means comprising a suitable support, pressing means arranged to reciprocate vertically of said support, other pressing means arranged to reciprocate at an angle to the line of travel of said iirst named pressing means, and suit able mechanism for reciprocating said pressing means along their respective lines of travel, substar tiallyas described.

6. In a machine oi the class described, means for forcing the filling material into an edge cushion of a mattress, and. for simultaneously I constricting said cushion along the inner edge thereof, and for holdingthe mattress in that condition while the seam is sewed through said constricted portion, said means comprising a suitable support, pressing means arranged to reciprocate vertically of said support, other pressing means arranged to reciprocate at an angle to the line of travel of said first-named pressing means, and suitable mechanism for reciprocating said pressing means alongtheir respective lines of travel, substantially as described.

7 In a machine of theclass described, the combination with a mattress-suppo rt,of "means for forcing the filling material into an edge of the mattress and for constricting a portion of the mattress adjacent to, and back of, said edge, so as to form an edge cushion, said means comprising horizontally and vertically reciprocating presser blocks, substantially as 7 described.

'IHARLES A FISHER.

Witnesses:

F. Iii, Duper, M. It). idlusnns. 

